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Same Name, Different Game

The mentioning of arcade vs. console in the Kage 2 thread and arcade Ninja Gaiden being talked about recently made me think it could be a good time to discuss 8-bit console games that differed from the arcade games they were based on. It was a pretty common practice to change stuff up on 8-bit consoles given that they were so much lower technology than the average arcade machine, and so this sometimes resulted in the console versions being superior.

So, let's compare arcade and 8-bit console games that were the same mostly just in name. I listed some that came to mind below. In some cases, it's debatable whether it's the same game (e.g. NES Toki, Double Dragon) so I stuck to ones that are pretty distinctly different but add any others you think should belong.

Air Rescue (Arcade, SMS)
I only played the arcade game once but I thought its System 32 scaling awesomeness was much cooler than the 2d SMS game which lacked the addictiveness of the much earlier Choplifter.

Astyanax (Arcade, NES)
The NES game blows; I totally regretted buying it. I didn't play the arcade game until later but it's so much better in control, level design, and graphics.

Bionic Commando (Arcade, NES)
I think almost everyone agrees the NES game improved the gameplay. It is better although I do think the arcade game is underrated.

Enduro Racer (Arcade, SMS)
I prefer the arcade game with its scaling and 3d view although I thought the SMS game was really cool, better than any similar home games.

Laser Ghost (Arcade, SMS)
I have only played the arcade game via MAME but it seemed like the superior gun game. The SMS game's pretty unique for the genre, though.

Ninja Gaiden (Arcade, NES, SMS)
The NES one is easily my favourite here with its excellent platforming and cinemas. The SMS game plays well but I think it lacks the style of the NES game. The arcade game's a unique beat 'em up but feels a little clunky to me.

Quartet (Arcade, SMS)
I prefer the arcade game for multiplayer and the SMS game for single-player. The arcade one's better for a quick action fix while the SMS one's more methodical and designed as a console game.

Rygar (Arcade, NES)
I haven't played it in ages but I liked the adventure-y NES game more.

Strider (Arcade, NES)
I like the NES game but the arcade original wins here, no contest.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade, NES)
Okay, so the second NES TMNT game was in the arcade beat 'em up style but when the first game came out, it wasn't available so I figured I would list it. I always thought NES TMNT1 was a mediocre platform/adventure game that sold on its license whereas the original arcade game was at least a quality beat 'em up. Arcade wins here for me.

Wonder Boy III (Arcade, SMS)
I guess the sub-name's different (Monster Lair vs. Dragon's Trap) but since they're both called Wonder Boy III, I'll list it. The arcade game's a quality platform/shooter but the SMS game's easily superior, one of the best games of its kind.

Bionic Commando only half counts, since it was marketed as a sequel in Japan, with a different title.

Yeah, Quartet didn't have the same name in Japan either but I figured I would go with the titles released here. And Punch Out is usually considered a sequel here since the NES game was only released under that name here in the Tyson-less re-release. There's a ton of grey area with this topic.

No argument there. I was just limiting my list to 8-bit console stuff to keep the size down.

And, maybe I shouldn't have used the term "based on" for the topic. I mostly meant "has the same name, and is from the same company" for discussion purposes. Some of these games are loosely based on arcade games; some are just the same franchise but share a name.

This one always baffled me. I appreciate that NES Contra was an unusally high quality port of the arcade game, but what did it actually improve? It still seems like a slightly toned down version of the same game with lesser graphics and sound.